Are You Sure You're Okay?
by ItsBiggerOntheInsideHP
Summary: When the Fourth Doctor catches a fever, Sarah Jane has to help him get back to the TARDIS and then get well. (I do not own Doctor Who


Are You Sure You're Okay?

By Kate

Sarah Jane Smith and I trudged up the hill, it had been a long day firstly, we had gone to the planet Alie, she had thought it was humorous that a creature from Alie is called an Alien. On Alie the citizens looked quite similar to the human idea of robots, and I had to explain several times that they were actually had similar intelligence to humans, and therefore calling them robots was insulting.

"The TARDIS is in that forest, isn't it? Sarah asked.

I answered cheerfully, as usual. "Yes, you were paying attention to the surroundings, weren't you?"

Sarah Jane smiled, "Of course."

We reached the top of the hill and watched Alie's purple sky set, filled with bright greens, the color of the sun shining through a leaf, and then chocolate browns.

About midway through, I got a headache, and not a small one, the kind which felt like a Neanderthal was banging a stone into your skull. 'Perhaps if I sit down it will go away.' I thought miserably. Sarah Jane must have suspected something because as I sat down she inquired if I was alright. I nodded, and soon afterwards, I felt better.

Soon we continued back to the TARDIS, but I wasn't feeling well, there was no longer any headache, but it hurt to breathe, it was slight though but it seemed to be getting worse. Sarah stopped suddenly.

"This is quite the walk," then her expression turned grave, "Are you sure you're okay?"

'Was I really breathing that loudly' I thought and tried to think of a Doctorish thing to say to calm her nerves. "Cross my hearts." I weakly smiled and crossed both sides of my chest. She looked at me suspiciously and kept walking.

"Almost *gasp* there." I stopped and leaned against a tree, tucking my long, knit scarf into my coat and then wrapping the coat tightly against my body.

Sarah placed a hand on my forehead. "I think you're running a fever, you look like you are about to collapse, how about we sit down and rest a little."

After only a few minutes I was ready to walk again. I got up slowly but fell back down. Sarah started to help me up, but I was reluctant.

"I just tripped, I'm fine." But the following coughing fit suggested otherwise.

"You're burning up and you look exhausted!" Sarah yelled. She then placed my arm over her shoulder and helped me walk.

The TARDIS was quite deep in the forest and we were both relieved when we found it. Sarah helped me into a chair and asked where my bedroom was.

"Just through that door." I wheezed loudly.

Sarah helped me up and into the rarely used room. She helped me take off my coat, shoes, and scarf, and I fell onto the bed. I pulled the covers up around me, but they were cold, and I was shivering.

Sarah Jane spotted a black doctors bag and opened it. Inside was filled with Gallafrayn doctor's tools, all marked with sticky notes explaining their use. I had left those notes specifically for that purpose.

She walked to my side and told me to open my mouth, she pressed a button on a laser light thermometer and checked the back.

"You have a high fever, as I suspected earlier."

'Good, she understood the notes.'

She then took an electric stethoscope out of the bag. "Doctor, you're going to have to tell me whether your breathing is alright"

She touched the cold metal to my chest, my breathing sounded congested and uneven. I tried to tell her but burst into another coughing fit.

Sarah sighed sarcastically, "You could have just shook your head. Is there anything else I should go look up in the medical books, I could have sworn I saw some in the library."

I nodded, "An unbearable headache, while we were watching the sunset, and chills every few minutes." I had to whisper this, talking hurt too much.

I expected she would say 'I knew something was wrong! Why didn't you tell me?' but she just frowned and told me "the medical books are categorized by symptom, aren't they?"

I once again nodded

"Good, I'll go take a look at the unit on respitory infections."

While she was gone I lay in bed, trying to catch my breath, and thought about what I may be ill with.

"I think I figured it out," Sarah Jane was back in my room. 'When had that happened?' it had only felt like a few minutes.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Half an hour, anyway, look at this page." She held it up so I could see.

Disease name: Trophomadory fever

Symptoms: high fever, chills, exhaustion, coughing, breathing difficulties, headache, (early symptom.)

Species in which can catch this illness: all species with a natural body temperature under 78 degrees

Trophomadory fever, (named after the fictional planet of Trophamodore in the Earth book Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut,) has an extremely short incubation period of a few minutes. They thrive in cool weather of 25 to 45 degrees, but can only breed in much warmer climates. Commonly found on the planet Alie, the first noticeable symptom is a piercing headache quickly followed by breathing difficulties, and coughing, anywhere when these symptoms start the patient will become so exhausted, they will not be able to walk without assistance. However, this illness should only last a few days, but the mild cough afterwards , last up to a week

Treatment: there is no known medicine to treat Trophomadory fever, however, hot, humid air warm, watery foods and beverages, and sleep can help. Fortunately, it is rare to die from this illness alone.

I smiled weakly and nodded.

Sarah put the book down and reached for a mug on the nearby nightstand. "I made you tea."

"Thank you Sarah." I started to sit up, I was doing it so slowly, Sarah started to help me. She then picked up the mug and helped me drink in short sips, with time in between to breathe and sometimes cough.

After I was done, I thanked her again as she got up to leave. "Just try to get some rest." She responded.

I woke up late in the morning feeling warmer, I also noticed a wet cloth on my forehead. A few moments later, during a coughing fit, Sarah came in with oatmeal.

"Hi doctor, how ya' feeling?" she held up the thermometer and pointed the laser light into my mouth. She checked the back once again and said casually "last night I went in to check on you, your fever had gone up a little, so I thought…" I nodded. "Anyway, I think that was the worst of it, oh, and I found a congee recipe in the library so I thought you might like some." By now I was feeling very embarrassed, and I wanted to show Sarah that she should not have to do everything by herself just because I was sick.

I slowly sat up, Sarah started to help me but I refused. I then tried to stay in a sitting position without any assistance from other objects, but I felt myself start to fall. Sarah sat me up against the bed frame.

"What was that about?"

"You should not have to be doing all this all by yourself."

"I don't mind, besides, it's not like you have enough energy to do anything by yourself right now."

She put the bowl on the nightstand, and told me to eat, asking me if I needed help. I shook my head and ate slowly, I then placed the half empty bowl on the nightstand, and reread a favorite, The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes.

That afternoon, my fever broke, I also noticed my lungs felt a little better. When I told Sarah, she double checked the thermometer, and looked up. "Maybe it was the congee." She wondered,

I shook my head "medical practices don't work that way." I was surprised by how clearly and easily I could say this.

"Do you need help getting up?"

"I think I can manage."

I sat up a little easier than that morning, but needed help getting up. I walked by myself to the control room, and sat down. Looking Sarah in the eye, I said softly "thank you so much."

Sarah smiled with the same softness in her eyes


End file.
